Yup agreed. Saw the series late last year and got hooked. Probably the best TV series I have seen for many years. Little bit annoyed that nothing was resolved at the end of the series but I'm thinking about starting on the books which I am told are amazing.

Have read all five books released thus far, haven't seen an episode of the show yet though. I've looked to see who they cast, as the only one I knew of was Sean Bean as Eddard Stark. The only characters I really would of cast differently were Gregor Clegane, that role should of went to Kane, from the description of him in the books, Kane would of been perfect for the role; the other I would of cast differently would of been Catelyn Stark, the actress they chose is a little too old to play Catelyn, I would of went with someone about ten years younger.

I think Sandors scarring make-up should have been more intense too, Sandor's supposed to be very badly scarred (almost to Two-Face proportions) by his burns, the show makes it look to be hardly more than some droopy skin.

My only other gripe is that many of the male characters described to have long hair were shown as short on the show, not a big thing to most, but Jaime and Cersei Lannister are both supposed to have matching long hair, and at one point in the third book a big deal is made of the length of Jaime's hair. Renly and Joffrey were also given the same treatment.

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Both the show and the books are utterly fantastic. I'm eagerly awaiting the start of season 2 in April.

El Canuck wrote:Have read all five books released thus far, haven't seen an episode of the show yet though. I've looked to see who they cast, as the only one I knew of was Sean Bean as Eddard Stark. The only characters I really would of cast differently were Gregor Clegane, that role should of went to Kane, from the description of him in the books, Kane would of been perfect for the role; the other I would of cast differently would of been Catelyn Stark, the actress they chose is a little too old to play Catelyn, I would of went with someone about ten years younger.

I think Sandors scarring make-up should have been more intense too, Sandor's supposed to be very badly scarred (almost to Two-Face proportions) by his burns, the show makes it look to be hardly more than some droopy skin.

My only other gripe is that many of the male characters described to have long hair were shown as short on the show, not a big thing to most, but Jaime and Cersei Lannister are both supposed to have matching long hair, and at one point in the third book a big deal is made of the length of Jaime's hair. Renly and Joffrey were also given the same treatment.

To be honest, you don't see much of Gregor in the television show and what you do see, the actor is more than sufficient. Rest assured, every single character on the show is perfectly cast, even if they don't follow their appearances in the books (for example, characters such as Jon, Robb and Arya have had five or six years tacked on to their ages).

I've heard a lot of great things about this show, but do not have HBO. Because of the word of mouth, I picked up the first season box set that was released a few weeks ago. Now, I've never read any of the books, but I like medievel fantasy, so I was eager to check this series out.

It was a typical well done HBO production, with obvious money put into the production value. Well acted with many seasoned actors I recognized. I thought it was very well done.

But, for me, I thought it lacked the fantastic element of a sword and sorcery story that I had expected. Hardly any magic or creatures or totally absurd physics. It was good storytelling, but the story so far, as for the first season, is essentially a medievel soap opera. The real fantastic elements weren't really introduced until the end of the series (zombies, dragons).

I don't know what is next, not having read the books, but hope the next season goes more along the lines of fantasy, like the show, Merlin. That show has a good balance of the fantastic and the realistic.

Mafwanix wrote:I've heard a lot of great things about this show, but do not have HBO. Because of the word of mouth, I picked up the first season box set that was released a few weeks ago. Now, I've never read any of the books, but I like medievel fantasy, so I was eager to check this series out.

It was a typical well done HBO production, with obvious money put into the production value. Well acted with many seasoned actors I recognized. I thought it was very well done.

But, for me, I thought it lacked the fantastic element of a sword and sorcery story that I had expected. Hardly any magic or creatures or totally absurd physics. It was good storytelling, but the story so far, as for the first season, is essentially a medievel soap opera. The real fantastic elements weren't really introduced until the end of the series (zombies, dragons).

I don't know what is next, not having read the books, but hope the next season goes more along the lines of fantasy, like the show, Merlin. That show has a good balance of the fantastic and the realistic.

It won't, and to be fair, you're in the wrong place for it. GOT is all about the realism. It's pretty widely known that, compared to other fantasy, it's highly grounded in reality (apart from the dragons, that is). Personally, I love this about it. I've never been very enamoured towards the overtly 'fantastic' style. If you haven't already, though, check out 'The Wheel of Time' books. They have what you're after is spades.

It bugs me that they changed Asha Greyjoy's name to Yara to avoid confusion with Osha. It also bothers me that Cleos Frey is now Alton Lannister, a character fabricated entirely for the show. But, that aside, it's fantastic.

As of April 1st, 2016,the first entry in my Gold & Steel fantasy series, As Fierce as Steel, is on sale. Visit www.thegoldandsteelsaga.com for more!

Great episode on Sunday, as usual, but every time I see a deviation from the source I worry a little. They keep it toned down to giving great lines of minor, omitted characters to more important characters; and adding sex scenes that never occurred in the books, for what I can only guess is for the sake of adding sex scenes. In the newest episode however, this occurred:

Forewarning, if you're reading the books or haven't watched this episode yet, avoid.

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In what was a pivotal development point for Arya, they removed in its entirety her little wolf pack of her, Gendry, Lommy, Hot Pie and Weasel. Instead the opted to have them captured immediately after the death of Yoren at the hands of Amory Lorch. This to me was a big mistake, as this saw Arya attempt to establish her own pack, the crew being dispersed by Gregor's men forced her to learn to fend for herself once again, like the streets of Flea Bottom did.

Every time they omit a character or do something like the above I worry, because if they omit minor things now, when those things integral to the story later, how do they integrate it without abandoning the source entirely.

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Well I think the writers' skill is such that they won't set themselves up for failure, so to speak.

Every book adaptation leaves certain things out. Having read ACOK, I don't think Arya's development in the TV show falls short thus far; I think they've done an admirable job of getting all the relevant stuff on screen. It was never going to be a 'word for word' adaptation, after all. Nothing is.

Ah. I've finished all five and expecting to be waiting for #6 for some time. Although given that one season generally equates to one book, I'm wondering what happens in three seasons when George finally gets #6 released and has just started writing the final book. Might be a span between the last two seasons. Unless they slow down their pacing and allow more of the story to be told. That would also allow them to add more filler sex, because if there's one thing HBO loves it's gratuitous nudity.

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It's amazing, and I would also hate to see quality hindered in an effort to have them released in time for the show. I'd rather wait eight years for two amazing books than four years for two sub-par books.

As of April 1st, 2016,the first entry in my Gold & Steel fantasy series, As Fierce as Steel, is on sale. Visit www.thegoldandsteelsaga.com for more!

The first two books were released two years apart. I think he can manage to push out the last books in the series in time for the TV show, especially as A Storm of Swords will make up a potential Season 3 and Season 4, and it's likely they'll combine A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons for Season 5 and Season 6, if the show lasts that long.

Well, my thoughts from the pacing thus far was that their formula was one book per season, as good as ASoS is (my favorite so far, quite easily) I have my doubts they'd deviate from that. That gives us 2015 as the date for the Dance of Dragons season, which would be Season 5. Here's a list of the books and their release year:

A Game of Thrones (1996)
A Clash of Kings (1998)
A Storm of Swords (2000)
A Feast for Crows (2005)
A Dance with Dragons (2011)

The last two took 5 and 6 years respectively to be released, as much as I'd like to believe he'll have the other two out in time for the show and as much as I'd love to see that, I would rather he didn't rush the releases for the sake of the show and forsake quality. Perhaps he can maintain the hectic pace the first three entailed, but that remains to be seen.

As of April 1st, 2016,the first entry in my Gold & Steel fantasy series, As Fierce as Steel, is on sale. Visit www.thegoldandsteelsaga.com for more!

Welp, this episode has seen the most straying from the source of any episode thus far.

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- First Theon kills Rodrick, which he did not do, Ramsay Bolton did in an act of pure betrayal towards the Starks prior to the Red Wedding. Perhaps that would of been too much foreshadowing for the show.

- None of the Tullys are being used, from Bryndyn Blackfish, to Edmure they're all being passed over and will likely not be brought in at all at this point, despite their importance in the storyline.

- Since they revealed Robb's love interest in the show to be highborn they could of easily had her reveal herself to be Jayne Westerling, another pass by the show writers.

- No one stole the dragons and killed Daenerys handmaid. Also, where the fuck was Jorah? If they reveal him as the one who stole the dragons I will be pissed.

- Both of Arya's kills by Jaquen H'ghar have been changed. First the Tickler, now Amory Lorch. In fact, I'd even go as far to say that Arya's stay in Harrenhall in the show has only the most skeletal of similarities with her residency in Harrenhall in the books. I will say though, that given Lorch's demise in the books was in Harrenhall at the hands of a bear, and the character that was Arya's second kill in the books wasn't even used in the show (Weese), it's a minor detail. The Tickler is the only one that bothers me, as his death at her hands much later in the books, as I stated above, is important to her character.

- Ygritte. What else do I say? One of my favorite characters made her debut. I'm not sure how they intend to take it, considering the alterations. Jon turned her loose and doesn't see her again until the wildlings bear down on him and Qhorin much later. However, in the show, she instead bolts when Jon purposely missed her, resulting in a chase that separates Jon from his party and results in the two stuck on their own. This could change things dramatically.

- Aside from Ygritte, my favorite scene was the riot in Kings Landing. Very well done, very loyal to the source, and tremendous acting by all involved. Peter Dinklage should get an award for that scene alone. Another Gif for Goober to make, no doubt.

These writers seem intent on straying and I'm starting to think they're allowing for a finished product that scarcely looks like its source.

Our gratuitous nudity scene this episode was brought to you by Osha. Very nice.

As of April 1st, 2016,the first entry in my Gold & Steel fantasy series, As Fierce as Steel, is on sale. Visit www.thegoldandsteelsaga.com for more!